Hindsight
by The Wonderless Wizard of Oz
Summary: He stood triumphant over Etro, and shattered the curse of the Yeul bloodline. But in the empty eternity of Valhalla, Caius Ballad begins to question his victory's worth.


OK. Debut fanfic, LET'S GO!

Final fantasy, and all its contained fiction is owned by Square Enix.

…

And Billy Mays(which may not be true)

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><p><span>Hindsight<span>

They say that hindsight is an invaluable tool of learning and development. A way for living beings to improve themselves based on mistakes made in the past. Hindsight is normally glanced at for a fleeting moment, since the constant river of time flows ever onward, dragging one's thoughts and perception along with it. But here in Valhalla, this world devoid of even ghosts. This world where time is non-existant, hindsight is all there is.

Caius Ballad stands at Etro's throne, gazing upon the crystalised husk of her last champion sitting peacefully upon it. He comes here often to contemplate his actions in hindsight, though he has lost count of how many times he's visited now. He remembers the battle with her as though it had ended but a moment ago. She'd fought against him bravely, never tiring, never faltering. That was until Caius revealed the masterstroke of his plan, knowing that there was nothing she could to to prevent, or even reverse the fate of all existence. The image of her face still burns at the back of his mind when she dropped her sword. Like she had accepted the inevitability of the world's fate without any fear in her heart or mind. A quick and merciful end was all Caius could provide in response to such a gesture. And now, her she sat. The last testament to Etro's foolishness, that still defiantly mocks him despite his absolute victory.

In someways, Etro was to blame for this outcome. When the 6 L'cie saved Cocoon, they should've stayed in crystal slumber with their focus completed. Yet, Etro took it upon herself to spare the 4 that didn't form Ragnarok-knowing full well the consequences involved with taking such a risk. Caius still asks: Of what use would they have been beyond their focus? Why was a Yeul worth sacrificing to spare them? In hindsight, the Goddess should not have invervened. She would still have been present after humanity's time had run its course. She could have done something to begin the world anew. And she would not have earnt Caius's ire, knowing full well what she placed in his chest.

However, the day Etro took it upon herself to spare the L'cie, she had almost caused the world of the living to be consumed by Valhalla right then. The Goddess had manage to avert the crisis, but the mere act of sparing the L'cie had forced the Yeul of that time to observe the change of the timeline-taking her life in the process. For Caius, whos heart was already heavy from witnessing countless deaths of Yeuls forced to observe changes in the timeline, it was one too many. He resolved then and there, to lift the curse thrown upon both him and the Yeul bloodline by destroying both the goddess that had ensnared them, and the very thing their curse was dictated by-time.

In hindsight, Caius realises that he is no better than Etro for casting judgement on all of existence for the sake of Yeul. Worse perhaps-as he acted out of hatred, instead of mercy. And now they are both paying for his arrogance-and will continue to do so for all eternity. With the heart of Etro no longer beating within him, he was theoretically mortal now. But mortality needs the flow of time to carry its concept forward. In this place devoid of time, He and Yeul will never age, and therefore, never die. Without the flow of time, Yeul would no longer be forced to witness the reckless changes men and gods alike made that constantly took her life. But in its place, Yeul was burdened with a new curse-nothingness everlasting. She's often found starring out at Valhalla's dead shores, waiting for someone-something to wash up on the beachside. He can't remember how long it's been since they last shared words. They had long since run out of things to say. He casts his mind to something Noel Kriess-his would've been successor had said...

_I'm fighting for a better future for her. One where she can be happy! _

At the time, Caius scoffed at the notion of changing the future for the better, knowing what he knows of the consequences in making such actions. He failed to understand how someone could be content with a mere glimpse of a future they would never experience-as was the fate of the Yeuls. He should've realised it in Yasschas Massif, when a Yeul passed on with a smile on her face, but at the time was blinded by his own suffering. If he had viewed the Yeul's gift as something other than a curse, if he had not been so quick to anger over Etro's intervention, if he had maybe stood aside and allowed Noel and his companion to achieve their lofty vision for the future, then maybe the vision that the Yeul of 10AF saw might have become reality. In hindsight, taking away those fleeting moments of possible joy, and replacing it with an empty eternity was cruel beyond measure. Whenever he sees Yeul, her face now full of little else but despair, he often wonders if she would give him forgiveness if he asked for it. Yet, he stills his tongue. He knows he is unworthy of such a thing, and the comfort it might provide would be as empty as Valhalla itself.

While Caius spends his time here regretting the decisions he made, he wonders what Yeul is waiting for beyond the endless ocean. Perhaps for strangers from another plane of existance to stumble upon Valhalla from the void beyond. Perhaps she waits for Etro herself to be reborn from her champion's husk, to set things right and absolve him of his sins. Perhaps, she simply waits to awaken from the nightmare they're stuck in. Caius knows better, but he dares not reveal this to her. He's already taken too much already. Leaving her with the illusion of a miracle is the only act of atonement he can provide now.

With a gentle huff, he turns around and leaves the Throne of Etro. He needs to check on Yeul, but he'll return soon to contemplate more on hindsight...

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><p>So having rewatched the ending and intro over 2 day anti-spam period, I realise that this is probably not the most accurate post game scenario according to the theoretical canon(srsly, if you've finished the game, rewatch the intro, and listen carefully to Lightning's opening speech, and to what Caius says to Yeul. You'll probably come to the same conclusion as I did).<p>

Anyways, in this 'what if' scenario, the Yeul in Valhalla didn't die, Caius has defeated Lightning, and his victory is absolute. And so we come to the 'now what?' Unlike most antagonists, Caius Ballad isn't hereditarily evil, just willing to do whatever it took to save someone he cared about. Because of this, I wanted show the idea of a lonely eternity in Valhalla and what it's done/is doing to Yeul to weigh in on his conscience.

So anyways, where to from here? Well, I'm in the process of finishing/editing a 2 part post XIII Light x Lebreau fic(Lebreau's the hot barmaid that rolls with Snow's NORA gang). And from there, maybe an XIII-2/Bleach crossover, but not the usual LightxIchigo kind. This is gonna sound like heresy, but I'm thinking of having Lightning play lawful evil here, with an Etro's Heart=Hogyoku theory. If a fic like this interests you, and you wanna provide some insight, then feel free to send a PM.


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